The impacts of the national program for milk quality improvement – PNMQL in the region of Franca-SP

Abstract

In order to increase competitivity regarding the supply of milk and milk products in the 1990s the Federal Government created a strategic public policy on agribusiness, named National Milk Quality Improvement Program (PNMQL), based on the Agriculture Ministry's normative instruction 51/2002. This article presented the view of employees from the municipal (SIM), state (SISP) and federal inspection services with respect to the changes occurred in the supervision and control of the industry of milk products in the region of Franca, after the implementation of the program. Based on semistructured interviews applied to these employees and on their content analysis, the following themes were found: "milk quality standardization", "inspection services versus industry: adaptation to the National Milk Quality Improvement Program" and "inspection services and their responsibilities".  Results showed that PNMQL introduced parameters to guide the search for the quality of the milk produced in the region and in Brazil. In addition, authors found differences in the view of interviewees regarding their competences, demonstrating that SIM, in contradiction to the other two offices, neglected the function of controlling the quality of the milk industrialized in the region. Besides, authors identified the illegal commercialization of milk in the region due to the PNMQL requirements of investments and immediate changes in order to achieve the quality levels.